B.C. wildfires: Crews have challenging week battling winds, large fires

It has been a challenging week for B.C. firefighters.

Several fires made significant runs toward people’s homes and put crews on high alert.

On the east shore of Adams Lake, crews managed to save all the homes directly in the path of a fire that tore down a mountainside during an unexpected wind shift.

That fire is 2,257 hectares in size and all evacuation alerts and orders remain in place.

5:15 Wildfire near Adams Lake takes a turn

At Gun Lake north of Pemberton, homeowners were not as fortunate.

Despite structure protection units on the scene, and some homeowners battling flames on their own, the fire destroyed some homes and several outbuildings.

Residents in the area have nothing but praise for crews on the ground.

“I think a very, very wise set of choices were made for the first three weeks in trying to manage and maybe direct the fire in ways in which they felt that they could,” resident Ches Hagen told Global News.

But some residents have questioned whether the strategy employed by BC Wildfire crews on the Downton Lake fire this week made things worse.

On Aug. 1, crews conducted several planned ignitions from the air and conducted spot burns. But considering the weather, it seemed to locals the risk compared to the potential rewards was too great.

“Many locals were concerned,” Hagen said. “And that concern stems from the fact that the winds can be very unpredictable in the second half of the day. It can be very calm in the mornings and often around midday the winds can shift multiple times and then blow very, very strongly and steady.”

4:26 Downton Lake Wildfire update

The incident management team responsible for the Downton Lake fire said that the plan decreased the impacts of the fire and helped steer it away from key locations.

“This defensive burn strategy was having success, but winds shifted from southwesterly to a more westerly component and increased in speed, gusting close to 50 km/hr,” the organization said in a statement, adding that the strong winds coupled with dense fuel loads pushed the fire toward homes.

“The outcome of fire reaching as far down toward Gun Lake as it did was inevitable.”

Conditions around B.C. continue to be dry and fires can start at any time.

A fire that is believed to be human-caused on Vancouver Island was visible from Port Alberni on Thursday night.

According to Environment Canada, this weekend could be anywhere from four to seven degrees warmer than usual, but rain and cooler weather are forecast for next week, which could potentially bring some welcome relief.